Kitchener property taxes could increase by 3.9%; draft budget to be discussed

If you live in Kitchener, your property taxes could increase by 3.9 per cent next year.

The City of Kitchener Finance and Corporate Services Committee is set to discuss the latest edition of the draft budget for 2025 on Monday.

The average household in Kitchener could pay an additional $131 in 2025 due to that increase in property taxes and a 4.9 percent increase in water utilities. Those numbers are based on the average assessed value of homes in Kitchener, a number the city assesses to be around $320,000.

The increase supports the proposed $276 million operating budget, almost 60 percent of which pays the salaries and wages of City of Kitchener staff.

The city is highlighting the continuing effects of inflation and high interest rates as driving factors for part of the increase, though they added that they’re happy to see the rate of inflation slowing and the costs of construction steady.

The capital budget for 2025 is proposed to be just over $290 million, with those dollars going towards a number of significant upgrades happening around the city next year.

That includes almost $100 million going towards building the Kitchener Indoor Recreation Complex, which is being billed as one of the most sustainable recreation facilities in Canada when it’s completed in 2026.

In total, 470 projects are being funded through the capital budget, including 150 major facilities, 40 rinks, 37 soccer fields, and 2,000 kilometres of road.

According to an analysis conducted annually by BMA Management Consulting Inc., Kitchener still ranks pretty favourably compared to other big cities in Ontario in terms of the financial burden it puts on its residents.

The budget is set to be finalized in December.